Children Exposed to Solvents in Utero Score Lower on Some Neurological Tests

Pregnant women who work in manufacturing and industry jobs involving painting, plastic adhesives, nail salons, dry-cleaning operations, and medical laboratories may be coming in contact with dangerous solvents that could harm their children's health, say researchers from the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

Researchers tested 32 3- to 9-year-old children whose mothers had been exposed to workplace solvents during pregnancy. The mothers provided information about the types of solvents they were exposed to, and the children underwent tests for intelligence, language ability, motor and dexterity skills, and behavior. Each child whose mother was exposed to solvents was matched to a child of a similar age whose mother wasn't exposed to solvents during pregnancy.

Overall, the children who were exposed to solvents in the womb had lower scores on intellectual, language, motor, and behavioral function tests. The children who were exposed had significantly lower verbal intelligence scores than unexposed children, as well as lower intelligence scores in general. The exposed children also had lower language skills in all areas than the kids in the control group. The mothers who were exposed to solvents reported exposure during most of the first trimester of pregnancy, a time when exposure to harmful substances is especially likely to affect a baby's development. Many of the moms who were exposed to solvents also said they used protective equipment.

What This Means to You: Exposure to solvents in the workplace during pregnancy could affect your child's neurological development. If you work in a place where you're exposed to chemicals or solvents, talk to your doctor before becoming pregnant or if you're already pregnant so you can protect your unborn child as much as possible. Solvents are commonly used in manufacturing and industry jobs that involve painting and plastic adhesive, in nail salons, dry-cleaning stores, and medical laboratories.

Source: Dionne Laslo-Baker, MSc; Maru Berrera, PhD; Dafna Knittel-Keren, BSc; Eran Kozer, MD; Jacob Wolpin, PhD; Sohail Khattak, MD; Richard Hackman, MD; Joanne Rovet, PhD; Gideon Koren, MD, FABMT, FRCPC; Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, October 2004

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: November 2004